Wednesday, 29 November 2017

Newly capped Super Eagles defender, Bryan Idowu, says he was filled with anxiety and grappled with uncertainty ahead of his first meeting with the Nigerian team, Completesportsnigeria.com reports.

Idowu had his first experience with the Super Eagles following his invitation to the team for the international friendly encounter against Argentina in Krasnodar on November 14 2017.

The 25-year-old hinted that he was unsure how he would be received by his new teammates after they arrived in Russia for the clash against La Albiceleste.

“There was a feeling that I had come to view. Everything is new, you do not know anybody, nobody knows me, it’s unclear how we will meet, what will be the situation, how I will look in training,” Idowu told Amkar Perm’s official website.

“I watched as a real football fan of John Obi Mikel, who at Chelsea took all the big titles, on Ndidi and Ihenacho, who play in Leicester, Iwobi at London’s Arsenal.

“A lot of good players, whose game I used to watch on TV. And then they greet me and now we are together in the same team.

“The atmosphere and the training process were positive, a lot of jokes during warm-up, for example. And I think everyone saw a video where I played a song on a chair, as traditionally done by all newcomers – this is one of the positive moments that were in the team.”

The defender whose father is Nigerian and mother half Nigerian and half Russian went on to score in the game against Argentina after replacing Ola Aina.

Idowu described the occasion as the best moment of his career in the last two years.

He said: “Over the past two years, the goal for Nigeria, of course, is the brightest event for me because it came in my first match for the country.

“There were a lot of fans inside the stadium. When the ball flew into the goal, I did not even believe that I really managed to score on my debut.

”I was emotional after the game. Everyone was happy for me when I scored, and it’s nice.”